No matter how many times it is said, patience is really the name of the game when it comes to prospects. Even when it comes to a second round pick like Mitch Brown, jumping ship after fewer than two full professional seasons makes no sense. Brown may not be a finished product, but most prospects are not; otherwise they would be in the major leagues. Prospects in Brown's position are looking for growth and he has definitely shown that this year. Join Jim Piascik as he recaps Brown's dominant outing, LeVon Washington's offensive outburst, and much more as he takes you Around the Farm.

The Carolina Mudcats piled on 11 runs in a eight-run route of the Frederick Keys. Carolina Starter Ryan Merritt tossed six innings of two-run ball to earn his 11th win of the year. Merritt has recorded a 2.61 ERA so far this season. Eight of nine Mudcats hitters tallied at least one hit in the game, while five different Carolina players had multi-hit outings.

It was a difficult week for the Carolina Mudcats, as the team went just 1-5, closing the week on a five-game skid. With the difficult week, the team fell to 21-23 in the second half and 2.5 games behind Winston Salem in the Carolina League’s Southern Division. The IBI's Zachary Francis recaps the week that was for the Mudcats and also sat down with reliever Jacob Lee to talk about his role change...

The Carolina Mudcats fell to the Frederick Keys by a score of 7-3 on rainy Tuesday night at Harry Grove Stadium. An unrelenting stream of hits from the Keys’ hitters paved the way for a quality home win for the team at the bottom of the Northern Division. Frederick totaled sixteen hits off of five Carolina pitchers in just eight innings. Meanwhile, the Keys pitchers held the Mudcats to just three runs off of eight hits.

The WAR Room is back again, bringing you the 2014 advanced stats for every Cleveland minor leaguer. After looking at the pitchers last week, today we focus on the hitters. In particular, Jim Piascik focuses on the success Francisco Lindor and Erik Gonzalez have found since their respective promotions to Columbus and Akron. Join Jim as he goes in-depth on the advanced stats for Cleveland's minor leaguers and takes you into The WAR Room.

Fielding miscues cost the Carolina Mudcats dearly Friday as they fell to the Potomac Nationals 4-2 on a wet evening at Five County Stadium. A Yandy Diaz throwing error brought in two unearned runs as the P-Nats did most of their damage in a three-run top of the third.

The trade deadline has come and gone with Cleveland adding to two interesting prospects to their farm system. James Ramsey and Zach Walters will make their organizational debuts in the coming days, but on Thursday, the stage was set for two players on the opposite ends of the prospect spectrum; one at the beginning and one near the end. Join Jim Piascik as he breaks down Bobby Bradley's season in the Arizona League, Adam Miller's shutdown outing in Akron, and much more as he takes you Around the Farm.

The Carolina Mudcats fell, 4-3, to the Salem Red Sox after giving up 11 hits and managing just four of their own. No Carolina player managed to tally more than one hit, while Luigi Rodriguez's double was the Mudcats' only extra-base hit of the game. Josh Martin was tagged with a blown save and Rob Nixon got the loss.

Duke von Schamann went seven scoreless innings for the RubberDucks. Jesus Aguilar combined a homer, a double, and two walks for the Clippers. Jerrud Sabourin did the same for the Mudcats. But despite a night chock full of elite performances, none topped Tyler Cloyd's no-hitter in Columbus. Join Jim Piascik as he recaps the very busy night in the organization and takes you Around the Farm.

The Carolina Mudcats tallied 13 runs and 14 hits on their way to a 13-6 victory against the Salem Red Sox. Alex Monsalve and Yandy Diaz each had six at bats in the nine-inning game. Jerrud Sabourin paced the offense with two hits – one home run and one double – and three RBIs.

It was a rough week for the Mudcats as the team went just 1-4, but saw a six-game losing streak come to an end. With the losing streak, the team is now tied with first-half division winner Myrtle Beach for the division lead, just one-half game ahead of Winston Salem. The IBI's Zachary Francis chimes in with his weekly notebook and provides the news and notes from the week that was for the Mudcats and also talked with pitcher Michael Peoples about his role this season.

The Carolina Mudcats and Adam Plutko cruised to a decisive 5-1 victory over the Salem Red Sox on Tuesday night. A deadly combination of quality pitching and hitting paved the way for the Mudcats as they snapped their six game losing streak. Carolina starter Adam Plutko (3-5, 4.38) was dominant on his way to the win.

A frustrating spell for the Carolina Mudcats continued Sunday as they fell to the Potomac Nationals 6-5 in eleven innings. Oscar Tejada’s walk off homer to left, his second long ball of the night, completed the series sweep for Potomac and handed the Mudcats their sixth consecutive defeat.

The WAR Room is back again, bringing you the 2014 advanced stats for every Cleveland minor leaguer. After looking at the hitters last week, today we focus on the pitchers, including Mitch Brown. Brown is finding some strong success in Lake County this year, a very positive step for the 2012 second round pick's development. Join Jim Piascik as he breaks down Brown's season to date and the rest of the pitchers in the system as he takes you into The WAR Room.

Through his first five games at the Triple-A level, Francisco Lindor has fit right in. He took that to another level Saturday, launching his first two home runs as a Clipper. Arthur Kinney recaps Lindor's night and time in Columbus so far in addition to bringing you the action from around the organization. Join Arthur as he takes you Around the Farm.

The Carolina Mudcats suffered a hearbreaking loss as they fell 3-2 to the Potomac Nationals on Saturday night. The Mudcats tied the game with a late run in the top of the ninth but a walk off RBI single from Mike McQuillan proved to be the difference.

High-A Carolina right-handed pitcher Clayton Cook is someone who came out of high school with good prospect pedigree when the Indians selected him in the ninth round of the 2008 Draft. He quickly asserted himself as one of the Indians best young pitching prospects, but early in the 2012 season some persistent pain in his right shoulder changed his career outlook like the snap of a finger. The IBI's Tony Lastoria recently spoke to him about his comeback...

The Potomac Nationals outslugged the Carolina Mudcats Friday to come away with an 11-8 victory. The Mudcats fell despite grabbing a six-run lead in the top of the first and outhitting the Nationals 15 to 13.

This is a new feature piece here at the IBI that specifically looks at some of the prospects that have maybe not had as much attention they deserve for a variety of reasons but who are interesting or are coming onto the scene. We kick things off with High-A Carolina right-handed reliever Ben Heller who is having a fantastic season and has vaulted himself up the prospect charts for the Indians. What does he throw? How good is his stuff? What is he working on? What kind of future does he have? The IBI's Tony Lastoria provides some information on all of that and more...

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!